What is the unsportsmanlike rule in tennis? What is a default
Danil Medvedev was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct warning after a close call in the first set of his semifinal match against Carlos Alcaraz.
The Wimbledon Championships at the All England Club is known for being one of the classiest events in all of sports, but things can get a bit chippy from time to time. Sometimes the fans can get involved as we saw earlier in the tournament with Novak Djokovic, but it’s mostly the players that let the heat of the moment get the best of them.
Medvedev get heated after close call
That’s what happened to Daniil Medvedev in the today’s semifinal match against Carlos Alcaraz. At 30-40, up 5-3 and serving for a chance to close out the first set, Medvedev tried to chase a drop shot along the line from Alcaraz that was awfully close, but replays showed he was a fraction of a second late from getting his racquet to the ball before it bounced a second time.
Alcaraz ended up breaking Medvedev with the close call, and Medvedev had some words for the chair umpire, Eva Askeraski, as he was heading to his bench in between games. This isn’t the first time we have seen the Russian lose his cool before, but on this particular occasion, with he was awfully verbal and direct at the woman patrolling the match at center court.
It’s not yet known exactly what Medvedev muttered at the umpire but it was enough for a slight delay, and there was some debate between Chris Fowler and John McEnroe on the ESPN broadcast on whether or not there should be a default on Medvedev. If there was a default ruled against Medvedev that would have meant the abrupt end to the match as the fifth ranked player in the world would have been disqualified.
Punishment escalates after first offense
The referee and the supervisor of the match came on to the court to talk with the chair umpire, and after a brief discussion he was hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct warning. As it was his first offense he was just hit with a warning and not penalized.
According to the Rules and Regulations of Tennis the first unsportsmanlike conduct warning results in just a slap on the wrist, but if you are called for a second unsportsmanlike offense, that is a loss of a point. Should a player continue a third time that would result in the loss of a game, and any offense after that would be up to the tournament supervisor to decide if there is a default or not.
Alcaraz would draw level with Medvedev at 5-5 after the mini meltdown, but Medvedev would settle down and take the first set in a tie breaker.